Skald questions

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I'm planning on using a Skald PC in my next game. I know his song is his forte and he will be singing/casting a lot but what weapons and proficiencies are good? Do you dual wield? Sword(sling) and shield? Bows? He will be in a supporting role not on the front line...

 

AFAIK the Skald can only put one point in two weapon fighting so I wouldn't dual wield. Besides, you plan on using him as a back character which means that some kind of long range weapon is 'required'. Consider the following weapon combinations:

bow/crossbow + two handed weapon
(* in two handed weapon style),
bow/crossbow + katana
(* in single weapon style),
katanas + sling (of Seeking) + buckler or
katanas + throwing axe/dagger (fx Fire Tooth) + buckler.

Later on, when he gets Tenser's and other buffing spells, the Skald can easily be used in the frontlines - while the party still benefits from the Skald's song (cast Mislead and have the clone(s) sing) - so you'll probably want a weapon class/-combo with considerable melee strength: two handed swords, katanas etc.

(Above I suggest katanas in the combos with a one handed weapon but that's simply because it's the most powerful class. However, there a lot of great one handed weapons out there and it could be great fun to make a theme, fx axe + throwing axe + buckler...)

EDIT: Keep in mind, however, that the bard can't use shields but only bucklers - and AFAIK there aren't any really good bucklers out there...

[ March 19, 2005, 17:12: Message edited by: Victor Eremita ]

 

Katanas? Feh! Thems for ponces, as it were. Its a Skald, give him a ruddy great axe, or a long sword.

 

Seeing as he can only put one point in each proficiency I guess he will have lots of different profs...probably more than he will need. Wish he could use a real shield for the extra protections . The reason I'm thinking dual wield is for protection from charm etc. that you get with some weapons, not for offensive reasons (The Equalizer comes to mind). I'm thinking he might die rather easily and will need those protections. I am also thinking halberd because of it's melee range. He could stand behind a meatshield line and hit with one I bet. Plus I've never used a halberd on any character before and I'd like to try them. Maybe halberd and bow? I guess I'll experiment with different setups as I play and find what works for my style of play. Thanks for your replies.

 

Victor@ don't a buckler, as there are no magical bucklers in the (unmodded) game. 1 point in single weapon style is better than a buckler.

 

@ Terthe:
There's a Buckler +1 in the Docks District (MaeVar's Guild Hall) which means +2 bonus to AC (and an additional +2 bonus against missile weapons if he puts a * in Sword and Shield Style).

But besides that I agree.

 

I pretty much just used whatever weapons gave me the save/defensive bonuses I wanted. Spear of the Unicorn is nice, later Hindo's Doom...

 

If you have Weimer's Weapon Upgrade mod you can get Cromwell to forge some pretty good bucklers. Underrepresented items also adds a few iirc. The aPack mod gives some decent bonuses to thieves in general.

Dont bother with xbows, you get more attacks with shortbows or longbows. Halbs generally require 18Str to weild. Problem with Halbs and Spears is that you dont get the better ones untill Chapter4. Choose Qstaffs. You will probably want to give the Twohanded swords to other frontliners.

 

I'm not using any mods (except dungeon be gone) so that idea is out Shrikant. The quarter staff idea is a good one tho until I get a good halberd/spear thanks. I am definitely not going Xbow or 2 handed sword....I"ll have to have good strength for the halberd and seeing as how longbows give strength bonuses I'll probably end up using them. Can a Bard use a compound longbow or only a regular one? It says in the manual only fighters, rangers and paladins can use compounds.

 

Halberds require 13 STR. You can get Duskblade +2 and Dragon's Bane +3 (and Harmonium Halberd if you have Deidre) which will do nicely until the better ones come along. As to spears there aren't many (until the Underdark) but the Spear of the Unicorn +2 has some nice bonusses.

Sure, the bows are probably better but sometimes it's nice to try something different. And the Paralytic Bolts (loot from various Sahuagin) and the Kuo-Toa Bolts (loot from various Kuo-Toa) make the crossbow worthwhile IMO.

 

Get two weapon proficiency and use two powerfull weapons! This makes bard's very useless left hand rather a bit more useful. OH,can skalds put more than one point in two weapon fighting? İf so, do this! Equip him with Crom Faeyr, and Celestial Fury(or Kuroisan's uber katana, if you can have tactics mode.) Cast stoneskin, mirror image, haste and go whack things! Enjoy!
PS:Even skald can't use more than one proficiency in two weapon fighting, Crom Faeyr's massive bonus will make up for the THAC0 penalty.Hope this helps you.

 

The Bard's THAC0 progression stops at 10.

The Skald gets a +1 kit-bonus to to hit (requires fix-pack though).

The Skald can only put one point in Two Weapon Style so he'll suffer a -2 penalty on the main-hand weapon and a -6 to the off hand weapon.

The THAC0 bonus from Crom Faeyr is +5 and the STR bonus (25) gives an additional +7 to to hit.

This means that a level 22+ Skald with proficiency points in warhammers and katanas, weilding Celestial Fury (main hand) and Crom Faeyr (off hand) will have the following stats:

THAC0:
Main hand: 1 (10 + 2 - 1 -7 -3)
Off hand: 3 (10 + 6 -1 - 7 - 5)

Of course, additional items (helmets, rings etc.) and spells can lower the THAC0 even more.

To make a long story short: dual wielding is certainly an option, like Silverstar says, but nevertheless I still prefer other combinations (from a semtimental point of view probably...).

 

Well, I'm actually playing a Skald at the moment, got him to 20, I have hardly had him hit anything with a weapon, but I've had him basically select all the range weapons, but his primary melee weapon, I tend not to have anything else equipped, apart from the +1 buckler from mae'var's guild. It works well, I tried using mislead as a decoy when trying to knock out Firkraag, unfortunately the decoy's singing went out the door the first time I tried it Firkraag dispelled him Not nice, bad bad Red Oh well. But the weapon I'm using I believe is a long sword, could be a katana, but anyway, it's one that is in the collector's edition stores, that Deirdre in Waukeen's above where Ribald stands. It's quite nice, it gives +1 ac, and a bonus I think 1st to 4th level spells. Very very nice. Only problem I find annoying silly bard can't use robe of vecna or basically rings of wizardry He would be overkill then

 

The "bonus sword" that adds the spells is a Katana, I believe its name is Dakon's Zerth blade (I'm sure I spelled something wrong there). One other weapon option for a Skald would be Darts. They have a good ROF, and the Stunning and Wounding versions do some nice things to your targets. Use a Greater Malison first for best results.

 

Bards can't use composite long bows.
The Skald is better off using bows like theTuigan or Tansheron's/Gesen's Bow though.

It won't harm to add a point in dual-wielding.
For dual wielding I suggest you put something that adds to attack speed in your offhand though instead of the Celestial Fury. (Belm and a certain other Short Sword come to mind)
With Tenser's Transformation (which effectively gives him the THAC0 of a fighter, +2 bonus) you already have a high level fighter in your ranks, albeit with an attack per round of 3. (Improved Haste beforehand should help) If you ever need additional THAC0 and damage(for the sake of tactics), cast a Mislead or three.
I'm just pointing out that if the need arises, a Skald can also tough it out in the frontlines. He'll be better off doing so against powerful opponents, should the fighters find themselves in a bind.

[ April 23, 2005, 01:40: Message edited by: Scythesong Immortal ]